Florida vs. Missouri score, takeaways: No. 5 Gators implode in first half, battle back for second loss

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

Freshly minted as the No. 5 team in the nation, the Florida Gators certainly did not play like it Tuesday night at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. Trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half, the Gators ultimately fell 83-82 to the Missouri Tigers in a game that was as notable for its stoppages as its play.

The contest exceeded 2 hours and 40 minutes amid an endless string of fouls and reviews — except for a late 3-pointer from Mizzou in which it appeared the shooter’s foot was on the line. Certainly would have been an important play to look at given the game’s one-point final margin, but it was never looked at despite multiple stoppages of play down the stretch.

Nevertheless, Florida at no point played well enough to be deserving of a victory. The Gators saw their active SEC record 16-game home winning streak come to a crashing halt as it opened the game with its worst half of basketball this season. A significant second-half comeback gave Florida a chance, but despite some numbers evening up, UF made one mistake at another to prevent the comeback from reaching totality.

Let’s take a look at what went down with some Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … Mizzou’s 60% free-throw shooter made both of his attempts from the line with 28 seconds remaining. That put the Tigers up four points after Gators head coach Todd Golden decided to foul while trailing by two with nearly 9 seconds of differential on a shot clock. It was an analytical decision by Golden, one worth questioning but nevertheless one that many coaches these days make in such situations. The idea being to save time on the clock and increase possessions.

Florida opened the period using a 12-3 run to trim its deficit by 11 points. UF suddenly trailed by only five with 12:20 to play, and it moved to sitting down three with 8 minutes left following an 8-0 stretch on the back of an odd sequence of fouls that included to a Mizzou ejection on a Flagrant 2. Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. brought Florida back to a 3-point deficit by draining a triple with 3:41 left, but the visitors immediately answered in kind. Clayton then got fouled on a trey, but despite being an 85.4% free-throw shooter, he made just 1 of 3 at the line in a crucial spot.

Redshirt senior guard Alijah Wilson willed the ball into the hoop to put the Gators down just two with 38.5 seconds left, and Florida nearly stole the ball in the backcourt coming back in what could have been — but was not called as — a 10-second violation. That led to Golden’s fouling decision, and ultimately, the end of the game.

First half focus: UF got its ass kicked. Missouri drained 7 of 14 attempts from downtown and forced eight turnovers while opening a 16-point advantage at the break. The Tigers used a 16-4 run to lead by as many as 19, and while the Gators cut their deficit to 10 after answering with an 11-2 stretch, they were unable to get any closer. It was the worst 20 minutes of basketball played by UF this season. If not for Clayton scoring 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting, it would have been even worse.

Exceptional efforts: Clayton kept Florida afloat with a game-high 28 points in a nice bounce-back effort from a scoring perspective, but he made just 9 of 19 shots and 3 of 9 triples while missing those two crucial free throws and committing two turnovers. Martin was next with 14 points, but he hit just 4 of 10 shots, air-balled a couple 3-pointers (3 of 7) and gave the ball away three times. No one had a banner night, and really, it would be easier to look at which players tanked in the game.

Odds & ends: Florida fell to 10-5 all-time against Mizzou with a 6-2 record in the O’Dome … this was Golden’s first loss to the Tigers (3-1) … UF snapped an active 16-game home winning streak, best in the SEC … the Gators entered the week ranked inside the top five for the first time since Dec. 4, 2017 and the first time this late in the season since Jan. 27, 2014; they even received a first-place vote … Florida under Golden fell to 9-19 when trailing at halftime, 2-25 when trailing with 5 minutes left, 11-23 when being outshot from 3-point range by an opponent and 20-16 when tied or trailing in bench points (Mizzou had a 35-9 margin off the bench) … the Gators took rare losses when outrebounding an opponent (39-9), outshooting an opponent (50-6) and attempting more free throws (33-14)

What it means: This was not as disastrous a loss as it seemed like it was going to be in the first half — by margin of victory — but it was nevertheless a Quadrant 2 defeat at home, which is a significant negative for the NCAA Tournament resume. What was odd about this game is that Florida was being beaten in nearly every box score category at halftime. By the time the final whistle sounded, the Gators exceeded the Tigers in many phases … except the ones that ultimately decided the contest.

Mizzou built its huge lead on the back of Florida’s horrendous first-half ball protection. Ultimately, the visitors created a 12-point margin scoring off turnovers (18-6) and saw a bench player go off for 22 points on 6 of 10 shooting from 3-point range. The Gators got outscored by 26 off the bench (35-9) with their reserves combining to go 2 of 9 from the floor and 0 of 4 from downtown with four turnovers and seven fouls. Florida put itself in too big of a hole to start, and it did not have the firepower late to crawl out of it — largely because Mizzou continued to draw fouls and force miscues down the stretch and UF was unable to shoot consistently from the charity stripe.

What’s next? It’s a rare homestand for the Gators, which will next play Saturday at 4 p.m. ET when Florida hosts Texas live on ESPN2. The Longhorns entered Wednesday at 11-5 (0-3 SEC), but all three of its league losses have been to top-15 teams with defeats to Tennessee and Auburn by a combined nine points.